Jones certified U.S. Senate winner despite Moore challenge

(Reuters) - Alabama officials yesterday certified Democrat Doug Jones the winner of the state’s U.S. Senate race, after a state judge denied a challenge by Republican Roy Moore, whose campaign was derailed by accusations of sexual misconduct with teenage girls.

Jones won the vacant seat by about 22,000 votes, or 1.6 percentage points, election officials said. That made him the first Democrat in a quarter of a century to win a Senate seat in Alabama.

The seat was previously held by Republican Jeff Sessions, who was tapped by U.S. President Donald Trump as attorney general.

A state canvassing board composed of Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, Governor Kay Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall certified the election results.

Seating Jones will narrow the Republican majority in the Senate to 51 of 100 seats. In a statement, Jones called his victory “a new chapter” and pledged to work with both parties.

Moore declined to concede defeat even after Trump urged him to do so.

He stood by claims of a fraudulent election in a statement released after the certification and said he had no regrets, media outlets reported.

An Alabama judge denied Moore’s request to block certification of the results of the Dec. 12 election in a decision shortly before the canvassing board met.

Moore’s challenge alleged there had been potential voter fraud that denied him a chance of victory. His filing on Wednesday in the Montgomery Circuit Court sought to halt the meeting scheduled to ratify Jones’ win on Thursday.